Golf club weight control capsule

ABSTRACT

A GOLF CLUB HAS A LIKE NUMBER OF DISSIMILAR WASHERS IN AN APERTURE IN TEH GOLF HEAD AND IN THE FOLF CLUB SHAFT SO ARRANGED THAT THE WASHERS ARE INTERCHANGEABLE. THIS PERMITS THE WEIGHT OF THE GOLF HEAD TO BE ALTERED WITHOUT CHANGING THE OVERALL WEIGHT OF THE GOLF CLUB. THE WASHERS ARE SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON A SCREW WITH AN ELASTOMERIC WASHER AGAINST THE HEAD AND ON THE END TO RETAIN THE WASHERS IN THE SCREW WHEN MOVED AND FOR SEALING THE HEAD END WHEN DISPOSED IN A CAVITY.

P 20, l97l J. M GORMAN 3,606,327

GOLF CLUB WEIGHT CONTROL CAPSULE Filed Jan. 28, 1969 I await/S.

United States PatentOfli 3,606,327 Patented Sept. 20, 1971 GOLF CLUB WEIGHT CONTROL CAPSULE Joseph M. Gorman, 15418 Mansfield, 1 Detroit, Mich. 18227 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 470,007, July 7, 1965. This application Jan. 28, 1969, Ser.

Int. Cl. A63b 53/08, 53/14 US. Cl. 273-81A 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE v A golf club has a like number of dissimilar washers in an aperture in the golf head and in the golf club shaft so arranged that the washers are interchangeable. This perdesired thickness the weight of which is approximately of an ounce. When the washers are to be employed in a head made, of metal such as an iron or a putter head, an aperture is provided to receive the washers directly and the capsule is omitted. The capsule would, however,-

. be employed in the grip end of the shaft in which the washers not used in the head are stored. The washers are BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING mits the weight of the golf head to be altered Without changing the overall weight of the golf club. The washers are slidably mounted on a screw, with an elastomeric washer against the head and on the end to retain the washers inrthe screw when moved and for sealing the head end when disposed in a cavity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION -Reference may be had to the patent to Daniel, No. 1,167,387 and that to Hodgkins, No. 1,575,364 to show the state of the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 is a broken perspective view of a golf club with a capsule in the wooden head which embodies features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, broken view, with a part in section, of the head of the golf club illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged broken sectional view of a structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken on the line 3-3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 3, taken on the line 4-4 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a view of a club head similar to that illustrated in FIG. 2 showing another form which the invention may assume;

FIG. 6 is a broken piew of a golf club of the iron type having a metal head with the device of the present invention embodied therein, and

viding a desired weight to the club head while maintaining the overall weight of the club itself. A capsule is provided which is placed in an aperture in the head. A similar capsule is mounted in the grip end of the shaft. Each capsule contains a plurality of washers clamped in place by a screw extending therethrough. One-half of the washers are heavy material, the other have Washers made from light material. The washers in the capsule of the head and shaft are interchangeable so that if the head is to be lightened, .one .or more heavy washers are interchanged with light washers from the capsule in the shaft. If it is desired to'have a head of greater weight, then one or more light washers from the head capsule are interchanged with heavy washers from the shaft capsule. The capsule is preferably made from a plastic material that is secured in the aperture in the Wood head by an epoxy resin. Preferably, each capsule has a capacity for ten washers, five light and five heavy alternately placed in the capsules at each end of the cub, that is to say, one in the head and one in the grip end of the shaft. If, for example, the swing weight of the club is D2 with the club weighing approximately 13% ounces, the swing weight may be changed to be five lighter or five heavier points in the series. For the D-2 club, this range will extend from the 0-7 to D7 without changing the total weight of the club. It is for this reason that ten washers are employed in each of the capsules, five being of heavy weight and five being of light weight. Thus while a club of exact weight is provided by the manufacturer, the golfer has the opportunity of changing the head weights so as to produce a club having a swing weight which meets the golfers requirement. The heavy washers may be made of bronze, zinc, brass, or any other heavy material while the light washers are made of any comparative lighter substance such as nylon, orlon, vinyl or like plastic or aluminum, manganese and like materials. Each of the heavy washers are approximately /2 inch in diameter and of a FIG. 7 is a broken view of a putter having a metal head with the weight changing device disposed therein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The golf club 11, illustrated in FIG. 1, has a head 12 made of wood, plastic or like suitable material, having a hollow shank 13 in which a shaft 14 is secured. The upper end of the shaft 14 has a grip 15 secured thereon in the conventional manner. The grip end of the shaft has a capsule 16 secured therein by epoxy or similar material. The capsule has a cylinder body closed at one end by a bottom 17 containing a threaded aperture 18. In its simplest form, the capsule is molded from a plastic material and is secured by epoxy within the shaft end. A flange 20 may be provided at the open end for limiting the insertion of the capsule in the aperture of the head or shaft end. Five washers 21 of metal or other heavy material are placed within the bottom of the capsule and five washers 22 of plastic or other light material, is placed thereupon or alternately disposed therebetween. A screw 23 extends through the center of the washers and is threaded into the aperture 18 in the bottom 17 of the capsule to secure the washers in firm fixed relation to each other. The head 24 of the screw contains a slot 25 which will receive a small coin so that the screw can be tightened and released without the use of a tool. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the capsule 16 is secured by an epoxy resin or like material in an aperture 24 in the club head 12. The capsule contains the five heavy washers 21 and the five light washers 22 secured therein by the screw 23.

The club 11 is built to a predetermined weight by the manufacturer, such as the 13% ounce club referred to hereinabove by way of example for which D2 swing weight is provided. With this arrangement, five of the heavy Washers 21 and five of the light washers 22 are disposed in each of the capsules 16, one in the head and the one in the grip end of the shaft. The owner of the club may change the weight of the head by trading washers between the capsule in the head and that in the grip end of the shaft. Thus the lightest head can be obtained by removing all of the five heavy washers 21 and replacing them with five of the light washers 22 from the capsule' in the grip end of the shaft to which the five heavy washers are added. The light washers may be removed from the head and the heavy Washers placed therein to obtain the maximum increase in the weight of the head. This is preferably done by steps, changing one of the heavy washers for a light washer, or a light washer for a heavy washer. This gives a swing scale point range of five lighter or five heavier steps from the D2 weight swing without changing the overall weight of the club. In other words, the D2 club can be changed to any weight swing point in the range from -7 to D-7 by changing the washers in the head in the manner pointed out hereinabove. The capsule in the grip end of the shaft forms a storage for the washers not used in the head without effecting the overall weight of the club.

An important part of the invention pertains to the use of the washer 33 of elastomeric material which is placed under the head 24 of the screw 23 which expands laterally when the screw is installed within the capsule or aperture in the head and shaft and is tightened therein to cause the elastomeric material to move sidewardly to engage to form a seal within the wall of the aperture. A second washer 34 of elastomeric material is screwed or forced upon the threads at the free end of the screw 23 which retains the group of washers 21 and 22 in unit relation with the screw when the screw is removed from the aperture in the head and shaft or from that of the capsule 16. This prevents the loss of the washers when the screws are moved from the aperture to interchange the heavy and light washers as pointed out hereinabove. After the light and heavy Washers have been interchanged, the application of the washer 34 to the threaded end of the screw 23 retains the washers on the screw and when the screw is inserted in the apertures and screwed into the threaded aperture 18 using a sufficient force the washer 33 will expand laterally and form a seal with the side wall of the aperture and will be effective in locking the screw therein against loosening.

When employing the washers in metal heads of irons 27 or putters 28 as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the capsule is preferably omitted and an aperture 29 provided in the head of the irons or putters of a diameter equal to tthe internal diameter of the capsule. When a /2 inch aperture is employed on the interior of the capsule or the irons or putters, then the washers will have an outside diameter of approximately .-495 inch. The bottom of the aperture in the iron heads will contain a central threaded aperture 31 for receiving the end of the screw 23. The aperture 29 is of sufiicient depth to prevent the screw 23 from bottoming therein. The same capsule 16, as illustrated in FIG. 3, will be employed in the end of the shafts of the irons and the putters for storing the washers which are not employed in the head. In other words, if the interior diameter of the capsule in the grip end of the iron or putter shafts is /2 inch, then the aperture in the metal heads will likewise be /2 inch in diameter when the capsule is eliminated. The interior diameters of the aperture in the capsules and irons are maintained substantially the same but may be varied from the A inch diameter which was mentioned by way of example. If the aperture in the grip end of the shaft is larger than that provided in the head, the outside diameter of the capsule is increased to fit the aperture as can be seen by comparing the wall thickness of the capsules of FIGS. 2 and 3. The change in weight swing for the irons and putters is the same as that for the wood clubs as described above. By trading washers between the head and shaft, the head may be made lighter or heavier Without affecting the overall weight of the club.

I claim:

1. In a golf club having a head and a shaft, the head 1 and shaft each containing an aperture having a threaded 1 and a body with a threaded end for slidably supporting half of the washer-like elements thereon and in the aperture inthe head, an elastomeric washer on said screw between said screw head and washer-like elements for locking said screw and sealing said washer-like elements within the aperture when the thread on the'body is screwed into the threaded hole at the bottom thereof, a second screw having a head and a body with a threaded end for slidably supporting half of the washer-like elements thereon and in the aperture in the shaft, an elastomeric washer on said second screw between said screw head and said washer-like elements for locking said second screw and sealing said washer-like elements within the aperture when the threaded end of the body is screwed into the threaded hole in the bottom thereof, the head of each screw having a diameter substantially that of the washer-like elements so as to extend within said apertures, and elastomeric washers on the threaded ends of the screws for retaining the washer-like elements thereon when the screws are removed from said apertures.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,171,383 8/1939 Wettlaufer 273-171 1,167,387 1/1916 Daniel 273-471 1,453,503 5/1923 Holmes 273-71 1,575,364 3/1926 Hodgkins 273171X 2,750,194 6/1956 Clark 273171 FOREIGN PATENTS 347,502 4/1931 Great Britain 273-171 105,959 11/1938 Australia 273171 527,485 7/1921 France 273-171 823,727 10/1937 France 27373.9 194,823 3/1923 Great Britain 273171 ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner R. I. APLEY, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 273-171 

